Partnering with the US government

Government agencies played key roles in advancing MenAfriVac®

Partnerships were a vital component to the successful development of MenAfriVac®, and many players contributed to the new vaccine. The US government especially played a crucial role in making the vaccine a reality:

The US Agency for International Development gave significant funding to analyze the economic costs of meningitis epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, improve meningitis surveillance, and address regulatory issues around the vaccine’s approval.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research developed the conjugation method used in the vaccine and provided technical expertise in transferring the technology to the Serum Institute of India Ltd. for manufacture.

The National Institutes of Health, Office of Technology Transfer facilitated licensure of the intellectual property developed at the FDA to PATH.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed and performed tests to evaluate the immune response of people who participated in clinical studies of MenAfriVac.

The United States’ participation is part of a model of public and private partners contributing to a groundbreaking success for global health. And it’s one that can be replicated over and over to find solutions for other diseases that affect populations around the world. With the financial support of US agencies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, GAVI Alliance, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, PATH and the World Health Organization have developed and introduced a new vaccine that is changing the lives of millions of people in Africa.